This gentle reworking of Ted Hughes's 1968 novella was the unseen gem of 1999. Hogarth, a young boy who lives in the Maine woods during the cold war, befriends a giant robot. As with ET, the iron giant is a misunderstood outsider who becomes a child's best friend and Hogarth does his best to hide the massive figure from his mom (voiced by Jennifer Aniston) and the local scrap-yard beatnik (Harry Connick Jr.). Soon the suspicions of neighbours and a government agent (Christopher McDonald) spell trouble.
With no songs, no sidekicks and no cheap ending, The Iron Giant is a refreshing change--like an off-Broadway production compared to the glitz of Disney's annual animated extravaganzas. Director Brad Bird may have Family Dog and The Simpsons to his credit but this film doesn't have that brand of scatological humour. As with the best family entertainment, there are gags that adults will howl at while the kids are watching something else (see Bird's interpretation of cold war propaganda). And the star is one cool piece of animated magic. Voiced by Vin Diesel (Saving Private Ryan's hulking Private Caparzo) and filled with more gadgets than a Swiss army knife, the giant is a grand thing to behold. And like another famous cinema tin man, our hero--and the movie--has heart. Superb entertainment for ages 5 and up. --Doug Thomas
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Jennifer Aniston | Annie Hughes |
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Harry Connick Jr. | Dean McCoppin |
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Vin Diesel | The Iron Giant |
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James Gammon | Foreman Marv Loach |
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Cloris Leachman | Mrs. Tensedge |
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Christopher McDonald | Kent Mansley |
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John Mahoney | General Rogard |
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Eli Marienthal | Hogarth Hughes |
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M. Emmet Walsh | Earl Stutz |
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Jack Angel | Additional Voices |
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Bob Bergen | Additional Voices |
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Mary Kay Bergman | Additional Voices |
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Michael Bird | Additional Voices |
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Devon Cole Borisoff | Additional Voices |
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Rodger Bumpass | Additional Voices |
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Robert Clotworthy | Additional Voices |
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Jennifer Darling | Additional Voices |
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Zack Eginton | Additional Voices |
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Paul Eiding | Additional Voices |
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Bill Farmer | Additional Voices |
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Charles Howerton | Additional Voices |
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Ollie Johnston | Additional Voices |
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Sherry Lynn | Additional Voices |
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Mickie McGowan | Additional Voices |
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Ryan O'Donohue | Additional Voices |
| Director | Brad Bird |
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| Writer | Tim McCanlies, Brad Bird, Ted Hughes, Brent Forrester | |
| Producer | Allison Abbate, Des McAnuff, Pete Townshend, John Walker | |
| Musician | Michael Kamen | |
| Photography | Steven Wilzbach | |
| Edition | Special Edition |
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| Packaging | Keep Case |
| Nr Discs | 1 |
| Screen Ratios | 2.35:1 |
| Audio Tracks | Dolby Digital 5.1 [English] |
| Subtitles | Bulgarian | English |
| Distributor | Warner Home Video |
| Layers | Single side, Dual layer |
| Edition Release Date | Apr 17, 2000 |
| Regions | Region 2 |